Together, we have no end
by snogfairy
Summary: The girl who had been fighting so hard to save all of them, suddenly turned against them and ready to kill. Nalu Oneshot. Set during the Tartaros Arc.


**This is a Nalu Oneshot for my crack 'theory': What if Lucy is E.N.D.? (I don't actually believe this, but imagine the possibilities!:D)**

**mittyz (on tumblr) drew a comic to accompany the story, you can find a link on my profile. :)**

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><p>Gray Fullbuster's bare soles made hard contact with the ground below, propelling him forward as he kept on going by sheer willpower, closer and closer to the sounds of fighting and screaming and, suddenly, disturbing silence. <em>What the hell is going on?<em>

When he finally stumbled upon his friends, for a moment he thought he must be hallucinating from all the bloodloss. He could not believe his eyes. Yet, sure enough, there they stood, bruised and battered and with their backs turned towards him, forming a front against – Lucy?

No, that was not Lucy.

Physically, she looked just like her, except for the winding, sharp horns that seemed to have grown out from behind her ears and, if you took a closer look, the long sharp nails on her fingers. What really threw him off track was her face, though. Her eyes were a glowing red and the light in them was gone, only leaving hate and madness.

The corners of her mouth twitched as she eyed the newcomer, and her already broad grin spread even more, turning her face into something dark and horrendous.

That small instant in which everybody's faces turned in his direction was enough for her to make her move.

An explosion of dark light hit the group hard, sending all of them flying to the ground. Gray and Natsu were the only ones who got back up.

Gajeel was lying face down on the ground, his arms protectively wrapped around a small figure. Blue locks were sprawled out between his dark ones. _Levy? When did she get here? _And then his eyes found Juvia. She seemed unconscious, and Gray balled his fists in anger. What had happened to her? She looked completely worn out and beaten up. For a moment, he had to close his eyes. _Focus. _Still, his body started moving in her direction - but before he could reach her, another attack ripped apart the ground beside him, missing him only by inches.

"Shit, Lucy! Natsu, what the hell is going on? What happened to Lucy?"

The Dragon Slayer's face was grim, and he wiped away some blood trickling down his cheek.

"I- I'm not sure. We had just taken down those stupid demons when some weird guy's voice appeared all around. He said something about books and gates, and suddenly-"

He dodged another ray of dark energy and sprinted closer to Gray.

"-suddenly Lucy collapsed, and when she woke up she attacked me, and suddenly her body started changing, and …shit, I have no idea how this could happen, but apparently this is E.N.D., one of Zeref's demons. He's posessing her body."

He was trembling with anger, unable to direct it at anyone physically, eyes darting between the Ice Make Mage and the insane demon that had chosen his best friend for a vessel.

Gray tried to process the information, but found it hard to grasp everything that was going on. He stood still for a moment, fists clenched and mind racing. Then, determination settled in.

"Even if that is Lucy, we have to stop her! For her sake, too! I know she would want us to."

Natsu clenched his teeth so forcefully they made a crunching sound, but he didn't even notice. An image flashed before his mind's eye, a memory of Lucy happy and smiling as she placed a flower crown on her head. _Hey Natsu, look! I made you one too…_ He couldn't. He just couldn't.

His eyes moved back to the person facing the group, the person who was Lucy and at the same time was not. Her beautiful face seemed contorted by the evil grin overcasting it, her eyes emotionless and hollow. But still, she was unmistakenly Lucy, and to hell with him if he couldn't find another way.

He looked back at Gray. His expression alone was enough to make the Ice Mage understand that he would rather die than even risk hurting his friend.

"Ooh, you don't have the courage to attack your beloved partner, do you? You're pathetic."

Their heads turned back to the demon. It was the first time Gray had heard her speak, and it sent shivers down his spine. Her voice was weirdly reminiscent of Lucy's, but it seemed out of place, and was darker, like cold metal cutting through flesh.

She was mocking them, laughing at their pain as she mimicked a devastated expression, lips pouting; eyes big and innocent. But then, aprubtly, her face fell and she bared her teeth at them, licking her dry lips.

"Well, if you won't attack, I will have even more fun with you."

Dark energy was accumulating around her body now, wrapping it in darkness and an aura so evil that even the earth beneath her feet started crumbling.

Gray stepped forward, ready to counterattack.

"Ice Make – " He was interrupted by a fist to the face, almost hard enough to send him flying. When he regained his composure, he found himself looking into the raging eyes of his lifelong rival.

"You can't do that! That's Lucy!"

"Natsu, you don't understand the situation! If we don't stop her, she-"

"I know! I know…still… leave this to me."

Something about his voice and the look in his eyes made Gray freeze. There was desperation aswell as determination, and somehow he knew he could trust him to find a way. As much as they fought and aggravated each other, they shared a deep understanding and bond, and in that moment he could feel Natsu's emotions burning through him like his own. He furrowed his brows as he looked at his friend.

"Fine."

Crossing his arms, he stepped back in the direction of their unconscious friends.

"I'll do something about the others, so make sure you keep her busy long enough!"

"What do you mean long enough? This will be over soon, loser!"

"Shut up and get Lucy back!"

They smirked at each other, and then Natsu turned around to face E.N.D. again.

There she stood, one hand on her hip while the other, the one with the guild mark, hung loosely at her side. How dare that bastard take Lucy from them? Fairy Tail would not be the same without her ever again.

Noticing his stare, she lifted her hand to examine the tattoo. There was no recognition in her eyes. "This is something of importance to the girl, huh?" She brought her other hand up, as if to stroke over the mark, but then she extended her long index finger, and Natsu watched in horror as she scratched her long nail over the mark, leaving a trail of blood. It trickled out of the deep cut and all over the tattoed skin, almost completely obstructing it from view.

A red haze clouded his view as he heard himself shouting, and before he knew it he stood in flames, shaking with rage.

"Oh? I made you angry? What now?"

_Shit_. What was he supposed to do?

"Lucy! Can you hear me?"

The girl threw her head back and broke into roaring laughter.

"Sure I can. I'm right here." She batted her eyelashes at him.

"Shut up! You're not Lucy!"

"True." She loosely balled her hand to a fist as she brought it to her face, watching the blood trickling onto her wrist. She smiled. "Which is why I will kill you, and all your other little friends."

With a single, quick flick of her hand, a new wave of darkness bounded off her - but it was not aimed at Natsu.

"Gray! Watch out!"

Natsu watched in shock as the attack passed him by. He turned his head just in time to see Gray create an Ice Wall, which was enough to absorb the worst of the attack, but when the smoke cleared, he, too, was lying on the ground, showing no signs of consciousness.

"You—" He was growling at the amused demon now. "Why would you do that?! I am your opponent!"

"Oh really? Then why don't you attack me, coward? The girl is dead anyway, no matter what you do to her body."

"Y-you're bluffing."

A grin spread from one ear to her other, and she brought her bloody arm back to her face. Only this time, she parted her lips to slowly, pleasurably lick off the fresh blood. In the middle of her feast, she moved her head slightly to look at Natsu through half-lidded eyes.

"Try me."

Doubts began to attack his heart, menacing voices at the back of his head.

Was she really gone? The girl that had gone through so much with him, who had fought so hard, who had become irreplacable to him, whom he loved so much - was there nothing left of her inside her body? Was she nothing more than an empty shell? No way.

_Where is she?_

But then, he noticed a discrepancy, so miniscule as to easily be missed, but when he squinted his eyes, he could definitely see it. There, on her dirty and bloodstained cheek, something was glistening. He watched mesmerized as a single tear made its way from her eyes and down her cheek, clearing a small trail of light amidst the darkness.

There was hope.

"Lucy is still in there."

A cruel grin was still distorting her features, and now she broke into broad laughter, which rebounded from the walls around them and came back to meet lithic faces. It seemed she had not noticed the hot tear burning on her cheek, for she still looked as manic and confident of victory as before.

"That girl is gone."

There was nothing more to say. Natsu bent his knees as he prepared to launch forward, and then he kicked himself of the ground and started running towards her. Her eyes followed his movements lazily.

"You're slow-eh?!"

Her eyes widened for the fraction of a second as she felt something inside her stir, and when she regained control and looked back in his direction, he had broken into a sprint and was aiming directly at her.

"Once you said that, no matter what, you'd rather stay with everyone, so.."

"Huh?"

An unusual feeling was taking hold of the monster. Surprise. How could he have gotten so close? How could her attention have been lost long enough to allow this?

"So… let's continue on our adventure… together."

Natsu was grinning wildly by now, not entirely sure what he was doing, and sure as hell without a plan; but he did not care as long as he would reach her. If he could just touch her, he knew that somehow he would find a way.

"You'll never come near me! Human speed is no match for a demon! Ha!"

She lifted an arm, ready to kill the boy. Playtime was over. But suddenly, the weird feeling was back, waves of something the demon could not grasp rolling through its borrowed body. She started to shiver all over, and snarled dangerously; like a cornered animal.

Her fingers twitched as she tried to bring herself to move her body, but it seemed to have become completely paralyzed. _What the hell?! That bitch…_

And then his body slammed against hers as she could only stand by helplessly, suddenly becoming aware of the tears streaming down her face.

"Lucy!"

Strong arms were embracing her now, hands digging into her sides. Desperate now, she lashed out her clawed hand - and it slashed a deep gush into his waist. He groaned, but his grip did not loosen.

"Bastard." She hissed in a last act of defiance, and then everything began to blur as E.N.D. felt his soul being pushed out of the girls body.

"Fight it, Lucy. I know you can do it. Come back to me, please. Lucy… we still have many adventures to go on."

A loud sob disrupted the waterfull of soothing words tumbling out of his mouth, and he pulled back, wide eyes searching for the recognition he so deeply craved in hers. He shakily released a breath he had not been aware of holding as he saw Lucy blink at him through her tears. His Lucy.

There was sorrow in her eyes, and pain, but when their eyes locked, he felt a wave of relief wash over both of them. Weakly, she smiled and opened her mouth ever so slightly, her voice croaky and shaking.

"Natsu…"

"Welcome back, Lucy."


End file.
